Vending machine



Sept. 10, 1935.

VENDING MACHINE Filed sept. 24, 1954 R. R. WESTFALL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Pa2pk A?.

T12 MMT,

ATTORNEY Sept. 10, 1935.` R R, WESTFALL 2,014,304

VENDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1954 2' sheets-sheet 2 ATTORNEY PatentedSept. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE to American Coin MachineCompany,

Los

Angeles, Calif., a ccrpcration of California Application September 24,1934, Serial No. I745,315

3 Claims.

This invention relates to vending machines.

An object of the invention is the provision of a vending machine adaptedto be operated by a coin Vwhich when of the right type will bepositioned so that when a manually-operated lever is actuated the coinwill engage a package and move the same from the magazine to bedischarged through an open-ended chute.

` Another object of the invention is the provision of a vending machinewhich is coin-controlled and which has provision for throwing out slugsto prevent the slug from releasing packages in a magazine when a manuallever is operated.

' A further object of the invention is the provision of a vendingmachine having a slot to receive a coin with a guide for directing thecoin upon an abutment attached to a manually operated lever, the guidealso including means for directing slugs away from the abutment so thatthe slugs will be discharged through an opening to the exterior` of thehousing, the coin being supported by the abutment in position to engagethe lowermost package in the magazine and acting `as a positive meansfor removing the package so that it will be discharged to the exteriorof the housing when the lever is actuated.

This invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description, in View of the accompanying drawingsforming a part of the specication; nevertheless, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not conned to the disclosure, being susceptible ofsuch changes and modications as dene no material n departure from thesalient features of the in- #vention as expressed in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a vertical section of the vending machine taken along theline I I of Figure 2,

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along the "line 2--2 of Figure l,

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the lower end of amagazine for storing articles 'to be vended,

Figure 5 is a View in perspective-of a removable guide for coins,

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of a manuallyoperated means forcausing the coins to remove the article from a magazine, and

Figure 7 is a view in perspective of a modified form of the slot andcoin-receiving member.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, lil designates the bottomof a housing which is preff-erably lformed of metal. The housing alsoincludes a front wall II, a rear wall I2, and side walls I3 and I4.

A cover I5 is hinged at I6 and is provided with a flange l1 adapted toengage over the upper end of the front wall Il. A hasp I8 is` secured5V` at I9 to the front wall and projects through a `slot in the usualmanner in the flange I1. A lock 20 is adapted to be received by thehasp.

A partition, generally designated by the numerl al 25, has its longerportion in hat engagement-Iv with the rear wall i2. The upper end of thepartition, as shown at 26, is curved inwardly and terminates adjacentone wall of the magazine 21. The lower end of the partition adjacent thebottorn I0 is curved forwardly, as shown at 28, and 15 then inclineddownwardly towards the front end of the bottom where it is received by aflange 25 formed integrally with said bottom.

The front wall I-l is provided with an opening 4, 30 adjacent the lowerend so that articles dis- 20` pensed from the magazine 21 may be removedfrom the housing after they have been discharged towards the opening bythe inclined portion 3I of the partition.

The magazine 21 is provided with two compart- 25` ments 32 and 33. Eachcompartment has side walls 34 and 35 formed of metal with the end of theside walls, as shown at 36 and 31, inturned suiliciently to engage thepackages 38 for retaining the packages in superimposed relation. The 30side walls 35 of each compartment, as shown in Fig. 3 are in fiatcontact with each other and may be secured together in any approvedmanner. The outer side walls 34 are connected to the side y walls i3 andI4 of the housing. 35'

Brackets 4B have an upwardly extending flange 4I which is secured to theflanges 35a of the walls 35 of the magazine 21. The downturned flanges42 of the brackets are secured to the front and rear walls as shown inFig. 1. These brackets 40 support the upper end of the magazinecentrally of the housing.

The lower ends of the walls 34 and 35 are provided with inturned flanges43 which are adapted to support the lowerrnost package 38 and these 45flanges terminate short of the width of the walls 34 and 35 so that whenthey are moved forwardly towards the open end 44 of the compartments,they will be released from the magazine and dropped to the inclinedportion 35 of the partition 25. It 50 will be noted that the lower endsof the anges 3,8 and 36a are cut away adjacent the lower portionsuiciently to permit the discharge of a package from a compartment, asshown at 45.

The bottom of the magazine, as shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 2,is supported upon brackets 46 which have vertical walls 41 secured tothe side walls I3 and I4 and depending flanges 48 spaced from the sidewalls for a purpose which will be presently explained.

A shaft 58 is provided with journals, as shown at 5|, in the members 41and the side walls I3 and I4. Substantially 90 segments 52 are securedto the shaft 50 in spaced relation and are in the form of blocks whichhave a curved outer face 53. An edge of each of these blocks is at, asshown at 54, to receive and support a coin 55.

Each of these blocks is provided with a triangularly-shaped lug 56 whichhas an inclined coinengaging face 51 adjacent the fiat face 54 of eachblock. As shown more particularly in Fig. 6 the lugs 56 and 56a areformed integrally with the blocks and with the shaft 56. 'Ihe lug 56 isoppositely disposed to the lug 56. A leaf 54a is secured to each lug andspaced from the flat face 54 to provide a pocket for a coin.

` Ahandle 66 is rigidly secured to the shaft 50 and is provided with anotch 6I adapted to be received yby a pin 62 secured to one of themembers 41 in the side wall I4. The pin 62 supports the arm 69 in aninoperative position. Said arm projects beyond the housing and movesthrough a slot 65 formed in the front wall I I.

A coin chute is shown more clearly in Fig. 5

and comprises an inclined wall 66 and a wall 61 inclined substantiallyat right angles to the wall 66. Ears 68 are formed integrally with thewalls 61 and are secured at 69 to the side walls I3 and I4 of thehousing. The right angular portion 10 of thev combined walls 66 and 61project through an opening in the front wall I I where the Wall 61 isprovided with a pair of slots 1I to receive the coin. The wall 66 isprovided with an opening generally designated by the numeral 12 intowhich project lugs 13. The opening at its lower end is f partiallydefined by inwardly projecting arms 14 'tacle 86 may be moved towardsthe front or rear of the housing. Projections 83 are formed on the frontwall S4 of the receptacle 80 and are adapted to engage the front wall II ofthe housing for spac- .ing the front wall of the receptacle from theinner face of the front wall of said housing in order to permit slugs topass downwardly along the front wall I I of the housing and to bedischarged adjacent the opening 36.

The upper end of the receptacle has an inclined front wall 85 and a rearinclined Wall 86, thereby reducing the opening at the upper end of areceptacle which is adapted to receive a coin after the package has beendischarged from the -inclined portion 3| of the partition 25.

The operation of my device is as follows: When a coin of properdenomination is placed in one of the slots 1I it will passover a lug 13and be guided by a flange 15 across an arm or bar 14 and 4thence ontothe fiat face 54 of a block 52. A portion of the periphery of the coinwill rest upon the inclined surface 51 of either the lug 56 or 56a asthe case may be and a portion of the periphery will engage the dependingflange 48 on the bracket 46, thereby retaining the coin in an operativeposition as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and adapted to engage a package 38 inthe magazine 21 when the arm 60 is operated.

The arm 60 is then elevated and moves through the slot 65 whence theshaft 58 will be rocked as will a block 52 and the coin 55 will be movedby the flat face 54 of the block. Due to the engagement with thelowermost package 38 in one of the compartments of the magazine 21 thecoin will force the package outwardly through the open lower portion ofthe compartment of a magazine until the package will fall by gravity offthe flanges 43 and be deposited upon the inclined surface 3| whence itwill move towards the opening 3D of the front wall II.

When a slug is placed in the slot 1I instead of a coin, the slug will beattracted by the magnet 'i6 and be moved away from the lug 13 towardsthe center of the opening 12. The slug will then fall centrally of theopenings 12 instead of moving downwardly on to the flat face 54 of oneof the blocks 52. As the slug falls from the plate it will dropdownwardly towards the inclined face 85 of the receptacle 8U and passthrough the space located between the front wall I I and the front wall84 of the receptacle 88 and be deposited adjacent the opening 30 at thefront end of the housing.

Thus it will be seen that when a coin of proper denomination is placedin a slot 1I and the handle 68 is operated the coin will act as apositive means for forcing the package 38 from the magazine 21. On theother hand if it be attempted to operate the machine by a slug, the slugwill be discharged from the device and the package will remain unmovedwithin the magazine.

The inner edges of the flanges 48 terminate substantially short of thevertical position of the coin and this position is reached when thearticle has been moved outl of the magazine. At this point the coin isreleased by the flange and the inclined edge 51 of a lug 56 or 562bcauses the coin to roll from its retained position and be dischargedinto the receptacle 80.

When a token or slug having a central opening is placed in the devicethe lug 13 will enter said opening and thus tilt the token or slug sothat the token will fall through the opening 12 and into the deliverychute.

A modified form of the slide and coin-receiving device is shown in Fig.7. This slide comprises a flat plate 9| having a pair of openings 92intermediate its ends and an angularly disposed plate 93 with perforatedattaching anges 94. The plate 93 is provided with spaced slots 95 toreceive coins which will slide over the member Si. The plate is providedwith V-shaped lugs 96 projecting into the openings 92 for a purposewhich will be presently explained.

A magnet 91 is located on the portion of the plate between the openings92 and is adapted to draw slugs towards the magnet so that they willslide upon the portion 98 of the plate and then drop verticallydownwardly to one side of the coin receptacle 80.

At each outer side of the openings 92 is provided a flange 99 adapted toaid in guiding legitimate coins along a straight line.

Depending from the plate 9| are attaching flanges |80 and theseattaching flanges are supported by means of inclined flanges IGIprojecting inwardly from the plate 9|. Inclined at an angle from theinner edges of the flanges I 6I are anges |02 which are adapted toengage a coin for a purpose which will be presently explained.

A shaft |53 has pintles IM rotatably mounted in openings IBS in theflanges Iilil. An operating handle I06 is rigidly connected with a shaftHit and is adapted to be operated in the same manner as the handle Gtishown in Fig. 1.

Connected to the shaft H33 or integrally formed therewith is a flatplate Ii@ which is rockable with the shaft. This plate normally isdisposed in a plane which is offset from the plane of the plate 9|. Alug l I I depends from the plate 9i and is offset therefrom to normallymaintain the plate I I0 in position.

A second plate I I2 is secured to the intermediate portion of the platei l@ and has its ends spaced from the ends of the plate Iiil, as shownat H3. This space is sufficient to receive a coin as shown in dottedlines. An intermediate portion im of the plate H2 has its outer surfacein the same plane with the adjacent surface of the plate 9i and forms atrack for a slug which has been drawn away from the normal path by themagnet Sl. The bowed portion H5 of the members H3 forms a side wallwhich is engaged by the coin.

The operation of this construction is as follows: When a legitimate coinis placed in one of the slots 95 it will slide downwardly over the lugSit and be guided by the flange Eli until it is received within thepocket between the ends of the plate III) and the bowed-out ends H3 ofthe plate M2. In this position the coin is engaged by the por'- tion Ii5 of the plate l if and the edge of the fia-nge I2 and the coin willremain in this position until the handle li is rocked sufficiently tomove the coin off the outer end of the iiange i. During this movement,however, the coin will engage the package in the same manner as shown inFig. l and move the package from the magazine. Directly after thepackage has been removed the coin will have been moved away from theouter end of the flange Iii? so that it will drop through the spacedplates Il and H2 and then fall into the receptacle 8B.

If a token or other circular device is placed into the slots 95 andthese tokens have a central opening this opening will be aligned withthe V- shaped lug 96 and the lug will cause the token to be revolvedslightly on the lug and it will fall through the opening S52.

If on the other hand a slug is placed into a slot 95 it will beattracted by the magnet Si and will move away from the opening 92 andtravel downwardly over the portion 98 of the plate Eil and then over theportion Hd of the plate H2 and be discharged to one side of thereceptacle. Thus it will be seen that when a token having a centralopening or a slug is placed in the device the token or slug will bedeposited into the space through which the article ordinarily isdischarged and which can be removed through the opening 30.

It must be borne in mind that since the token or slug will not fall intoone of the pockets between the plates Il and II2 the token or slugcannot be utilized for moving the package from the magazine.

I claim:

l. A vending machine comprising a housing, a rock shaft in the housinghaving a flat surface which will aid in guiding a coin along a definitepath, a block secured to said shaft and provided with a fiat face inalinement with the flat surface, the flat face being inclined to thehorizontal and providing a support upon which the coin will lie, a lugsecured to the block and having an inclined face, means for rockablysupporting the shaft in the housing and having means engageable with thecoin and cooperating with the inclined face of the lug for retaining thecoin against said flat face during a predetermined rocking angle of theshaft, means for supporting in a horizontal plane, a package to bedispensed, said coin when retained by the block adapted to engage an endof the package and force the package clear of the horizontal packagesupporting means when the shaft is rocked.

2. A vending machine comprising a housing, a rock shaft in the housing,a U-shaped member projecting laterally from the shaft adapted to receivea coin and be retained at an acute angle to a horizontal when the shaftis normally at rest, a lug having an inclined face located within theU-shaped member, said lug and a leg of the U- shaped member beingsubstantially parallel to the shaft, means for rockably supporting theshaft in the housing, said means including means engageable with thecoin and cooperating with the inclined face of the lug for retaining thecoin in the U-shaped member so that the projecting portion of the coinwill be in a position to engage one end of a package to be dispensed, adischarge chute, a supporting means for said package disposed in ahorizontal plane, said coin when the shaft is rocked forcing the packageoff the supporting means into the discharge chute.

3. A vending machine comprising a housing, a rock shaft in the housingand provided with a fiat face against which the coin is adapted to lie,a leaf connected to the shaft in spaced relation with the flat face ofthe shaft, means for supporting the shaft and provided with an extensionadapted to engage the coin and retain said coin between the leaf andflat face with the coin projecting beyond the leaf until the shaft isrocked suiiiciently to release the coin from the extension, a dischargechute, means for supporting an article to be dispensed in a horizontalposition and across the path of the moving coin so that when the shaftis rocked the article will be dislodged by the coin and forced into afalling path to enter the chute.

RALPH R. WESTFALL.

